Whirling toy driven by suctionproduced air current



Jan. 10, 1967 F. H. DJEDDA 3,296,735

WHIRLING TOY DRIVEN BY SUCTION-PRODUCED AIR CURRENT Filed Dec. 13, 1963 INVENTOR FOUAD H. DJEDDA ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent York Filed Dec. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 339,463 3 Claims. (Cl. 46-11) This invention relates to an amusement device. More particularly it relates to an amusement device especially adapted to induce children to drink liquids.

Young children often are difficult to train to drink liquids, such as milk, fruit juices and the like. In many cases, the children do not drink, or they procastinate in drinking, simply because their attention is diverted from the drink by other distracting influences.

One object of this invention is to provide an inexpensive, amusement device for children. Another object is to provide such an amusement device which may be attached to a drinking container to hold the attention of a child while drinking.

The aforementioned and other objects will become apparent from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawing depicting the preferred embodiment of this invention, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of the amusement device embodying my invention positioned on a drinking container, shown in phantom;

FIG. 2 is a section of the device taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a detailed section of the device taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2, the spindle or shaft being shown in elevation.

The amusement device as shown in the drawing consists of a hollow body or housing having transparent sidewalls and a top wall which are preferably domeshaped and a base 11 which makes an air-tight seal therewith. A vertical shaft or spindle 12 extends centrally inside the housing and is journalled in bearing 13 at the top of the dome and bearing 14 in the base. The ends of the shaft are preferably tapered to reduce friction during rotation.

Attached to the shaft 12, approximately one-quarter to one-fifth of its length from the base, is a wheel or platform. As shown in FIG. 2, the wheel consists of a circular rim 15 and spokes 16 radiating outwardly to the rim from a hub 17 which is secured to the spindle. The spokes have mounted upon them silhouetted animal characters 18. These characters are thin, light-weight figures, preferably multi-colored to indicate eyes and other features. Each of these characters is provided with airimpinging surface means thereon, for a purpose which will presently be made apparent. In the embodiment shown, the figures have flat surfaces and hence the entire surface of each figure is an air-impinging surface. It will be noted that such surface means extend between the base and top wall of the housing 10.

The base 11 has an opening 19 to permit the Withdrawal of air from the housing, and the dome-shaped housing 10 has an opening 20 to permit an air stream to enter the housing from the outside or atmosphere. When air is withdrawn from the housing through the opening 19, an air stream is in turn induced to pass into the housing from the outside through the opening 20.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the opening or air duct 20 is disposed in the dome-shaped Wall 10 at approximately the median plane of the air-impinging surfaces of the characters 18. As shown in FIG. 2, the opening or air duct 20 preferably forms an oblique angle with the tangent of the dome at that point so as to direct the air along the path shown by the arrows in FIG. 2. In order to obtain a suitable angle for the air duct through the housing wall, the wall must be of sufiicient thickness, preferably at least one-sixteenth of an inch.

It is also shown in the drawings and particularly in FIG. 2, the opening 19 in base 11 is radially-spaced from the air duct 20 a suificent angular distance to permit the air stream coming in through the air duct 20 to be directed along a curving path within the housing and to impinge upon the surfaces of characters 18 to cause them to rotate, before the air exits through opening 19 in the base 11.

In the preferred manner of utilizing this device, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the housing is fitted over a drinking container 21 filled with a liquid, such as milk. The underside of the base 11 is rimmed with a curved outer flange 22 which creates a leak-tight seal when fitted around the rim of the container 21. The container is provided with a drinking tube 23 which extends from a point near the bottom of the container upward through an opening in the upper portion of the container sidewall below the rim. The opening in the container sidewall and the drinking tube together must have an air-tight fit to prevent leakage of air directly into the container. A vertical tube 24 extends through the opening 19 below the base into the container 21 with a check valve 25 attached to the lower end thereof and normally held closed by means of a tension spring 26.

When a child draws liquid upwardly through the drinking tube by suction, the withdrawn liquid must be replaced inside the container by air which in turn must come solely from the housing through the opening 19. The air passing through the opening stretches the spring 26 and opens the valve 25. The withdrawal of the liquid from the container establishes a suction or pressure difierential between the air in the container above the liquid and in the housing as well, as fair passes from the housing into the container below. An air stream is thus induced to flow into the housing from the atmosphere through the air duct 20. The air stream will continue to flow through the housing and into the container as long as the liquid in the container is being removed.

This stream, by being directed away from the axis of the spindle or of rotation of the animal characters, impinges against the surfaces of the animal characters which are in its path. The animal characters respond in much the same manner as windmill vanes and rotate the spindle. The movement of the colorful figures will engage the childs attention and create an inducement for him to continue drinking in order to maintain the rotation.

The speed and duration of the rotation depends largely on external factors, such as the strength of the childs suction and his ability to continue sucking. However, the device may be so designed that a very small suction force suffices to rotate the spindle. Among the factors which I have considered in effecting such design are the size of the air duct .and the physical characteristics of the toy characters, such as area, thickness, weight and shape. For example, a very small bore for the air duct 20 is desirable to increase the velocity of the incoming air stream. I also prefer to use extremely thin characters which have a large surface area-to-weight ratio. Furthermore, the toy characters need not have fiat surfaces as shown in the figures, as other suitable surfaces which can effectively capture and utilize as much of the air stream as possible include concave or cup-shaped surfaces and irregular or broken surfaces.

If, while the child is drinking, the container is accidently overturned, the valve 25 immediately closes, thus preventing liquid from entering the housing .and staining the animal characters or from introducing substances which would interfere with the rotation of the spindle.

The elements of my device are preferably made of plastic or other lightweight, inexpensive materials that are safe for children. For the housing, I may use such plastics as a polystyrene compound, an acrylic or methacrylic polymer, cellulose-acetate or other rigid, transparent substance. The toy characters may also be made of lightweight thin-gauge plastic, or of paper or cardboard, or of cellulosic fabric.

My device admits of other variations, such as the use of toy characters of difierent designs, and of different rotational mechanisms from that shown herein. The housing may also be of forms other than dome-like. It will be understood that various other modifications may be made on the preferred embodiment herein described without departing from the spirit and scope of this invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. An amusement device comprising a transparent dome-shaped housing, a base having air-tight engagement with said housing, bearings provided within said housing in said base and said dome, a rotatable shaft mounted in said bearings, a toy assembly mounted on said shaft and rotatable therewith, said toy assembly having a plurality of radiallyextending equally-spaced figures, each such figure having air-impinging surface means thereon, said air-impinging surface means on said figures being so arranged as to have a common median plane, a single opening in said dome constituting an air inlet opening in a wall of said dome at approximately the median plane of said air-impinging surfaces, a single opening in said base constituting an air outlet opening in said base through which air may be withdrawn by suction from said housing, said openings being radially spaced and defining a path of air flow therebetween as air is Withdrawn by suction through the opening in said base member, whereby said air flow will impinge upon said air-impinging surface means of said figures to cause said rotatable shaft and toy assembly to rotate, said device including surface means for sealing contact with a container.

2. In combination, a liquid container having a bottom, sidewalls and an open top, a drinking tube having one end Within the container adjacent the bottom and its other end projecting outwardly through a sidewall of the container adjacent its upper lend and having a fluid-tight connection with said sidewall; an amusement device for inducing children to drink liquids from said container through said drinking tube, such amusement device comprising a transparent housing having sidewalls and a top wall, a base having fluid-tight connection with said housing and forming therewith a hollow body, and means on said body and beneath said base for establishing fluid-tight connection with the open top of said container; a shaft mounted within said housing having mounted thereon a plurality of radially-extending equally-spaced rotatable members having air-impinging surface means thereon, said surface means extending between said base and said top Wall; a first opening in said housing at approximately the median plane of said air-impinging surface means, a second opening in said base radially-spaced from said first opening for withdrawing air from said housing, said housing, base .and openings constituting means providing a path of air flow from the atmosphere through the first opening to and through the second opening when liquid is removed from the container by suction on the drinking tube, whereby said air flow will impinge upon said airimpinging surface means of said rotatable members to cause rotation thereof.

3. The combination of claim 2, wherein the opening in said base has a normally closed check valve which opens during the withdrawal by suction of liquid from the container.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,479,163 1/ 1924 Tyrell. 1,647,902 11/1927 Cohn 4656 2,544,594 3/1951 Goldfarb 4656 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

F. BARRY SHAY, Examiner. 

2. IN COMBINATION, A LIQUID CONTAINER HAVING A BOTTOM, SIDEWALLS AND AN OPEN TOP, A DRINKING TUBE HAVING ONE END WITHIN THE CONTAINER ADJACENT THE BOTTOM AND ITS OTHER END PROJECTING OUTWARDLY THROUGH A SIDEWALL OF THE CONTAINER ADJACENT ITS UPPER LEND AND HAVING A FLUID-TIGHT CONNECTION WITH SAID SIDEWALL; AN AMUSEMENT DEVICE FOR INDUCING CHILDREN TO DRINK LIQUIDS FROM SAID CONTAINER THROUGH SAID DRINKING TUBE, SUCH AMUSEMENT DEVICE COMPRISING A TRANSPARENT HOUSING HAVING SIDEWALLS AND A TOP WALL, A BASE HAVING FLUID-TIGHT CONNECTION WITH SAID HOUSING AND FORMING THEREWITH A HOLLOW BODY, AND MEANS ON SAID BODY AND BENEATH SAID BASE FOR ESTABLISHING FLUID-TIGHT CONNECTION WITH THE OPEN TOP OF SAID CONTAINER; A SHAFT MOUNTED WITHIN SAID HOUSING HAVING MOUNTED THEREON A PLURALITY OF RADIALLY-EXTENDING EQUALLY-SPACED ROTATABLE MEMBERS HAVING AIR-IMPINGING SURFACE MEANS THEREON, SAID SURFACE MEANS EXTENDING BETWEEN SAID BASE AND SAID TOP WALL; A FIRST OPENING IN SAID HOUSING AT APPROXIMATELY THE MEDIAN PLANE OF SAID AIR-IMPINGING SURFACE MEANS, A SECOND OPENING IN SAID BASE RADIALLY-SPACED FROM SAID FIRST OPENING FOR WITHDRAWING AIR FROM SAID HOUSING, SAID HOUSING, BASE AND OPENINGS CONSTITUTING MEANS PROVIDING A PATH OF AIR FLOW FROM THE ATMOSPHERE THROUGH THE FIRST OPENING TO AND THROUGH THE SECOND OPENING WHEN LIQUID IS REMOVED FROM THE CONTAINER BY SUCTION ON THE DRINKING TUBE, WHEREBY SAID AIR FLOW WILL IMPINGE UPON SAID AIRIMPINGING SURFACE MEANS OF SAID ROTATABLE MEMBERS TO CAUSE ROTATION THEREOF. 